Theresa May announced a British election to strengthen her hand

Contributed from Victoria

Last Tuesday (British time), the United Kingdom’s Prime Minister Theresa May called a snap election. She claimed that this was because of the need for a mandate to carry out Brexit.

The election will take place on 8 June.

Critics have slammed this as unnecessary. According to the existing agreement, the plan is meant to be put to a referendum. This may have now been circumvented. Consequently, the stated motive for calling the election is under question.

This is why Theresa May and her Conservative government are accused of using Brexit, as an excuse to extricate themselves from political difficulties. They have been having some trouble getting legislation through parliament.

“The country is coming together, but Westminster is not,” May observed.

Then there is the headache of a Scotland that wants its independence and remain part of the European Union. Scotland is also moving towards a new referendum.

Deep divisions exist within the Conserve Party and some of the pundits have suggested that if the Conservative do well at the polls, it will give prime minister an opportunity to shore up her numbers against the party hardliners.

Above this, others have suggested, is the wish to take advantage on the present disarray within the Labour Party, resulting from the refusal of many Labour parliamentarians to support their elected leader, combined with a massive and abusive campaign by News Corporation owned media.

It is an absolute disgrace when Labour Members and apparatchiks become the best asset for their supposed political opponents. Much of the offensive has been via press conferences and interview, combined with a stream of legal challenges. Internal party rules and processes have been openly flouted.

Leader Jeremy Corbin is presented as a bumbler, at the same time as he is called as the greatest political threat to the country, because he dares suggest that there needs to be a change from the consensus, where richest get the benefits at the expense of those who are not so well off.

The factors have combined to cause a situation where Labour is floundering in the polls and the thoroughly opportunistic Liberals and fascist like UKIP are breathing down its neck.

How this is going to unfold is impossible to predict at his point.

Overriding everything is not Brexit, but plan to strengthen the government’s hand, to carry on with the implementation of policies that will deliver working men and women to stepped up exploitation.

Calling the election is a gamble and there is no guarantee that it will pay off.